oh. my. gourd.

pumpkin spice cupcakes with cinnamon cream cheese frosting

pumpkin you up, girly-man!

it's not fall...or halloween...or thanksgiving; pumpkins aren't even in season. but that's the beauty of publix america. i'm proud to live in a country that considers justin bieber's DUI breaking news offers us canned, pure pumpkin 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. 

besides being available every day of the year, pumpkins in this country are available in all sorts of shapes, sizes, fictional holiday figures, and reality TV show personalities. my favorite of the aforementioned being honey boo boo's questionably-human older sister, also known as lauryn.

now that you are thoroughly disturbed and have most likely lost your appetite, back to the cupcakes. a blanket of rich, soft, cream cheese frosting rests on these warm, moist, pumpkin spice cakes. this treat is an absolute hit with my family and friends and can be served with or without frosting (hello, muffins!). i gave these cupcakes a healthy makeover thanks to egg whites and a blend of low-fat yogurt and canola oil...i also gave myself an excuse to eat extra cream cheese frosting. not sorry.

enjoy!

cake ingredients:

1 cup light brown sugar

2 large egg whites (~1/4 cup if your eggs come in a pour-able container like mine do. again, not sorry)

1 cup pure pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie mix)

1/4 cup canola oil

1/3 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 3/4 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp salt

frosting ingredients:

1/2 lb good quality cream cheese, softened (recommend philadelphia)

1 stick of butter, softened

2 cups sifted confectioner's sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp ground cinnamon

directions:

preheat oven to 350 F.

using a whisk, combine brown sugar and egg whites; add pumpkin, oil, yogurt, and vanilla extract and stir to combine in a large bowl.

in a second bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.

add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and stir until batter is combined.

pour batter into a muffin tin with cupcake liners until about 2/3 full (~2 tbsp of batter per cupcake).

bake cupcakes for 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean.

while cupcakes are baking, prepare frosting by beating cream cheese, butter, and vanilla extract until smooth. add confectioner's sugar and cinnamon and continue to beat until frosting is light and fluffy.

let cupcakes cool to room temperature before frosting.

once frosted, sift some ground cinnamon on top of the cupcakes for a little extra flavor and flair.

note: if you don't have a piping bag, place frosting in a gallon-size plastic bag and cut the tip off of one of the bottom corners. voilà!

pour some cinnamon sugar on me

monkey bread with candied walnuts and pecans

it's illegal in nine countries and made with bits of real monkey*. so you know it's good.

i'm not sure why it's called monkey bread. maybe because it's so easy to assemble and bake that even a monkey could do it (sorry, monkeys with internet privileges). maybe it's because whenever i serve this bread it gets torn apart and devoured by a group of uncivilized jungle animals that i endearingly call my friends. or maybe it's because of the primitive noises "people" make while they rub it on their faces eat it. 

the new york times suggested that the loaf resembles the monkey puzzle tree, a relative of the norfolk island pine. but what do they know?

the smell of this bread is absolutely to-die-for and the taste is pure euphoria. you'll find yourself picking at this sweet, sticky, delectable treat whenever nobody's looking for breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner, dessert...

do monkeys even like buttery biscuit nuggets drowned in heaven sauce brown sugar butter and crusted with cinnamon sugar and candied nuts? i hope not...more for me! enjoy, friends!

*no monkeys were harmed in the baking of this bread

ingredients:

1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 teaspoons cinnamon
3/4 cup (1.5 sticks) butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 (12-ounce) cans refrigerated biscuits (NO flaky layers)…I use pillsbury or publix original southern style
3/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts and/or pecans

directions:

preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

cut each biscuit into quarters.

mix granulated sugar and cinnamon in a gallon-size zip-lock bag.

drop all of the biscuit quarters into the cinnamon-sugar mix and shake the bag to make sure each piece is coated.

melt the butter and brown sugar in a saucepan under medium heat and stir until the two are one.

spray a bundt pan with non-stick cooking spray and sprinkle some nuts into the bottom of the pan.

drop half of the biscuit pieces into the bundt pan and then pour half of the butter-brown sugar mixture over the biscuit pieces.

sprinkle more nuts on top of the butter-brown sugar mixture and then layer on the remaining biscuits.

pour on the remaining butter-brown sugar mixture and sprinkle on the remaining nuts.

bake for 30 minutes

after removing from the oven, let sit in the pan for 10 minutes; then place a plate on top of the bundt pan and invert.